Papua New Guinea vs Zambia: Share of children who have completed primary school
Papua New Guinea
66.0%
in 2025
Zambia
67.4%
in 2025
Papua New Guinea rank
145th
Zambia rank
144th
Share of children who have completed primary school over time
- Papua New Guinea
- Zambia
How they compare
Zambia currently reports 67.4% against 66.0% in Papua New Guinea, a difference of 1.4%.
Across all 45 years both countries report, Zambia has been ahead every year.
Papua New Guinea ranks 145th and Zambia ranks 144th of 165 countries.
Zambia has averaged higher in every one of the 5 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Papua New Guinea | Zambia | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 43.3% | 54.6% | 11.4% | Zambia |
| 1990s | 48.6% | 52.9% | 4.3% | Zambia |
| 2000s | 53.8% | 58.5% | 4.7% | Zambia |
| 2010s | 60.5% | 67.4% | 6.9% | Zambia |
| 2020s | 64.7% | 67.5% | 2.8% | Zambia |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of children who have completed primary school, Papua New Guinea or Zambia?
- Zambia, at 67.4% against 66.0% in Papua New Guinea as of 2025.
- What is the difference in share of children who have completed primary school between Papua New Guinea and Zambia?
- 1.4%, with Zambia ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Papua New Guinea and Zambia?
- 45 years are reported by both, from 1981 to 2025.
- How do Papua New Guinea and Zambia rank globally for share of children who have completed primary school?
- Papua New Guinea ranks 145th and Zambia ranks 144th of 165 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of children who have completed primary school. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
The share of children who are three to five years older than the official age for the last grade of primary education who have successfully completed it. This broader age band is used to include children who started school late or had to resit particular years.